Reunion and Romance
by MWolfL
Summary: Manny's herd is exploring the new land, only to run into hunters. Then someone unexpectedly shows up and saves them. Later, a woman with a sad past arrives. LouisXPeaches and Surprise CharacterXOC
1. An Unexpected Reunion

Manny's herd was still exploring the new land they came across. Ethan, Steffie, Meghan, and Katie weren't with them since they weren't official members of the herd yet (Manny was still a bit distrustful of Ethan for, well, for father reasons). They were in a forest at the moment, but when they stepped out into the open hunters appeared and attacked them! Manny, Shira, and Diego started fighting them.

"Ellie, get everyone else out of here." Manny ordered.

"But what about you?" Ellie protested.

"Just do it!" Manny snapped.

Shocked, since she had never heard Manny speak like that before, Ellie obeyed. She and Peaches ran back into the forest. Sid, Crash, and Eddie were already there unsurprisingly. So was Granny, even she knew the dangers well enough this time. Oblivious as she was to some things the danger of hunters never left her mind for a second.

Diego got badly scratched at one point.

"Diego, Shira, just go." Manny said sternly.

"Hey, I'm not letting you fight them alone." Diego argued.

Manny gave him once heck of a death glare.

"I...er..." Diego then remembered about Manny's first family. "Right. Shira let's go, we can protect the others in case any hunters enter the forest."

"Okay..." Shira said hesitantly, not knowing why Diego had given in.

They ran into the forest. The hunters just kept attacking Manny, who was fighting back ferociously.

"Wow, what's eating him?" Crash asked.

Diego and Sid looked at each other awkwardly. They were the only ones who knew about Manny's first family. Manny was still uncomfortable with telling everyone else the story, even Ellie and Peaches.

Finally the hunters had tired Manny out enough for him to collapse. One aimed his spear...

"STOP!"

Startled, the other hunters turned towards the sound and saw a young human running towards them.

"Stop! Don't hurt him!" The young lad called.

"Roshan I know you're a vegetarian, somewhat, but the rest of us have to eat meat." One hunter said, annoyed.

"It's not that. Remember dad telling you about a mammoth who returned me to him?" Roshan frowned.

The hunters lowered their spears awkwardly.

"Uh, you mean..." Another hunter pointed at Manny.

"Exactly, he's that mammoth." Roshan went past the the hunters and approached Manny. "Manny? Are you okay?"

"Hold on, he knows Manny's name?" Ellie was surprised.

She wasn't the only one who was surprised.

"Wait...he said something about a mammoth returning him to his-" Diego dropped his mouth open.

"No way, it can't be." Sid's eyes widened.

"What in tarnation are you two talking about?" Granny demanded.

"Way back before we met all of you Manny, Sid and I went on a journey together to return a human baby to his herd." Diego explained. "In fact that journey was what caused us to become a herd in the first place."

"Really?" Shira said.

"Yeah, beforehand I was part of a pack and Manny and Sid were on their own." Diego nodded.

Diego and Sid left the forest cautiously.

"Diego, Sid, there you are." Roshan smiled. "It's me, Pinky."

"Wait, how do you know our names?" Manny asked. "And what we called you?"

"Because I understood you." Roshan smiled. "I can still understand you."

Manny, Sid, Diego, and the rest of the herd gaped at him.

"You can understand us?" Sid double-checked.

"Uh-huh, I guess all babies can understand animals but forget how as they learn human language." Roshan said. "However I never forgot. I never wanted to forget you guys so I kept the three of you in my mind and my heart my whole life. Lucky thing too." Roshan added as he glanced at Manny. "This caused me to form a strong connection to nature, and it also prevented me from becoming a hunter. I'm now mostly a vegetarian - another name for herbivore - except for some fish now and then. I'm also studying to be a shaman."

"What's a shaman?" Diego asked.

"A healer, to put it simply." Roshan explained.

"It's great seeing you again." Manny smiled as he slowly got up. "Don't worry about me, I'm just a bit tired."

Ellie and Peaches then went to Manny.

"Well, is this your family?" Roshan asked, smiling.

"Yup, this is my wife Ellie and my daughter Peaches." Manny introduced.

"Great to meet you." Roshan smiled.

"Same here." Ellie smiled back.

"Wow, I had no idea you once saved a human daddy." Peaches said.

"Yeah, well, that was a long time ago." Manny shrugged. "I never though I'd see Pink-er-Roshan again which is why I didn't tell you about him."

"Understandable." Ellie had to nod.

"So, is this the last of your herd?" Roshan asked.

"Nah, there are more back in there." Sid said as he pointed to the forest. "Ellie's brothers Crash and Eddie, my Granny, Diego's mate Shira, and Peaches best friend Louis."

"Oh. Well I'd like to meet them all." Roshan smiled. "Oh wait." He turned to the hunters. "I suggest the rest of you go somewhere else for your meal. Plus I don't think the rest of their family would be comfortable being near all of you."

"True." A hunter said. "We'll see you back at the village Roshan."

"Right, if you get back before me tell dad that I'm just hanging out with some old friends." Roshan nodded.

The hunters left. Crash, Eddie, Granny, Shira, and Louis then came out.

"Wha-" Roshan was surprised. "Gee, when you said that Crash and Eddie were Ellie's brothers I was expecting two more mammoths, not opossums. Adopted huh?" He guessed to Ellie.

"Yeah." Ellie confirmed. "I was separated from my first herd one winter and Crash and Eddie's mom took me in."

"Ah." Roshan smiled. "Oh...Diego are you okay?"

He had just noticed Diego's bad cut.

"Huh?" Diego turned around and saw his cut. "Oh yeah, kinda. I mean it hurts but I'll live."

"Better take you back to my village, I have some healing salves I can put on that." Roshan said. "Don't worry, the people there know to trust and not harm any animal that enters the village with me. Everyone already knows that I can talk to animals so they try not to kill any of my friends. Besides, I think dad would like to see the three of you again."

Manny and the others agreed, and followed Roshan back to his village.

"Manny...why were you acting like that back there?" Ellie asked.

"Huh? Oh, you mean with the hunters..." Manny hung his head sadly and sighed. "I have been meaning to tell both you and Peaches this, I just found it hard..."

"Tell us what?" Peaches asked.

"Tell you...that you're not my first family." Manny admitted.

Ellie, Peaches, Crash, Diego, Granny, and Louis looked at him with shock. Roshan was shocked as well but couldn't look at Manny with it because Manny was behind him.

"Before I met Sid I had another family." Manny continued. "But one day hunters attacked. My family ran away as I fought them, but it turned out to be a trap. My wife and son ended up trapped alongside a rocky wall, and other hunters..." He choked, starting to shed tears. "Other hunters dropped boulders on them. I couldn't do anything to save them, the hunters that first attacked us had surrounded me and kept me away."

He started to sob and stopped to recover a bit.

"Anyway, after the loss of my wife and son I tried not to get close to anyone else at first. Then Sid entered my life and I wound up with a bunch of new friends...and then a new family. I don't regret it, but I also don't want to lose any of you."

"So that's why you've been so protective of me." Peaches realized.

"Exactly, if anything ever happened to you...I don't even know what I'd do." Manny sighed.

"I'm really sorry Manny." Roshan said sympathetically. "I know it wasn't my fault, but it was still my species's fault. I'm glad you were able to have another family."

"Me too." Manny actually smiled.

By this point they neared the village. Runar, Roshan's father, approached him.

"Hello son-" Runar stopped and stared upon seeing Manny and his herd; mostly Manny. "You...you're the one who returned my son to me..."

"That's right, this is Manny." Roshan smiled. "Our friend Diego is hurt so I brought them here to treat him. Excuse me while I get one of my salves."

"Thank you." Runar smiled to Manny; he then looked at the rest of the herd. "Well, you're a father too now. Then in exchange for returning my son I'll help protect your daughter whenever you and your family are near my tribe."

Manny just smiled.

Roshan soon came back.

"Here you go Diego." Roshan rubbed the salve on Diego's wound.

"Thanks kid." Diego smiled.

"Heh, actually by human standards I'm close to being an adult now." Roshan chuckled. "Still have to go on my guide spirit journey though."

"Guide spirit?" Sid asked.

"Yeah, each human, when they come of age, go on a journey alone deep into the forests or woods. Depending on where you are." Roshan explained. "Some even go into the mountains. They then do some rituals like praying until they see their guide spirit, who help them find their destiny. You can never predict which guide spirit you'll get, but you can always be sure that it will be some type of animal."

"Son, since your friend Diego is wounded he and the others are welcome to stay here until he heals. Maybe even longer than that." Runar offered.

"Really?" Roshan smiled. "What do you guys think?"

Manny and the others decided on staying. They wanted Diego to be fully healed before continuing the journey anyway, plus those who didn't know Roshan before now wanted to get to know him more.

"Great. I know you guys wouldn't be comfortable being inside the village all the time so you can hang out amongst the trees near us." Roshan grinned. "I especially think Crash and Eddie would prefer that since we really don't have anything for them to hang from around here."

Crash and Eddie agreed.

Roshan and Manny's herd then hung out near the trees and got to know each other more. Roshan learned about their adventures, and was amazed by the other characters they had met (mostly the dinosaurs and pirates).

Roshan also got to know each newer member of the herd - from Ellie and her brothers to Louis - individually. He actually became pretty close with Louis, especially because of Louis's friendly, wise, and brave personality.

"You know," Roshan said to Louis one day as they relaxed near a small pond. "You never were a weiner, you always were brave."

"Heh, really." Louis scoffed.

"Sure, true bravery is doing what's right, even if it means risking your life." Roshan smiled. "You may not take risks or make bold moves, but you're still willing to risk your life to protect others. You also are willing to join your friends on adventures even though you'd rather stay safe, because you're that loyal to your friends."

"Ah...well truthfully I'm only willing to join Peaches on adventures." Louis admitted.

"She's your best friend, it's not surprising."

"True, but...I would like her to become more than that."

It was now out. The truth was Louis had never told anyone else about his feelings for Peaches, not even his family (who knew about his decision to stay with Manny's herd and were okay with it).

"You're in love with her?" Roshan was a bit surprised since he had never heard of interspecies relationships.

"Yeah. But since she's a mammoth and I'm a molehog I haven't been able to tell her." He sighed. "She has this crush on a mammoth named Ethan anyway."

"So when you saved her from Gutt...that was out of love and not just friendship." Roshan realized.

"Yeah, that was why I was so brave then. I'd do anything for her." Louis nodded.

"Well, sounds like your love for her is real." Roshan smiled. "Real love always works out one way or another. Have faith, maybe someday you two will be together."

"You think so?" Louis was surprised.

"Uh-huh, just keep following your heart and then who knows." Roshan nodded.

Louis thought about that for a few seconds and then smiled.

"Thanks Roshan."

"Anytime."


	2. New Friends

A few days later a woman with a scarred face was walking in the forest near Roshan's village when she saw a baby skunk in a trap. It's mom was nearby.

"Oh you poor thing." The woman said gently. "It's okay, I'll have you out of there soon."

The mother skunk looked at the woman warily, but waited to see if she posed a threat first before spraying. She knew the male humans did most of the hunting.

"Here, let me help."

The woman and skunks turned around and saw Roshan standing there. The mother skunk now relaxed and smiled.

"Hello Roshan." The mother skunk said.

"Hi Emily." Roshan smiled. "Don't worry about Aaron, I brought one of my healing salves."

"Oh good." Emily said with relief.

"Wait, you can understand her?" The woman asked Roshan.

"Yeah, I'll explain after we get Aaron out of the trap." Roshan knelt down.

He and the woman then got Aaron out of the trap and Roshan spread some of his salve on Aaron's wounded leg.

"Thanks Roshan." Aaron smiled.

"You're welcome." Roshan smiled back before turning to the woman. "Anyway, when I was a baby I had been separated from my parents. Mom was trying to get me away from a saber named Diego and lost her life in a river. Before she did she met a mammoth named Manny and a sloth named Sid and handed me to them. They, along with Diego, took me back to my father. Back then I could understand their language, and since I didn't want to forget them I kept them in my mind and heart for the rest of my life. This allowed me to continue understanding animal languages, and also turned me into a vegetarian. Except for fish now and then."

"I see." The woman smiled. "I'm kinda a vegetarian, except for fish, too but that's mostly because I'm not much of a hunter. Plus I've grown to love animals a lot. Oh sorry, my name is Aponi."

"I'm Roshan. Say, where's your tribe?"

"I don't have one." Aponi looked sad. "I haven't had one in years."

"Oh...well, would you like to stay with my tribe? At least for a little while?" Roshan invited.

"Er...okay." Aponi was now used to being on her own, but had to admit that she liked Roshan a lot.

Roshan led Aponi to his tribe. However when they entered the tribe everyone gave her a weird look and tried to avoid her.

"Sorry about that..." Roshan said awkwardly.

"It's okay, almost everyone reacts like that to my scars. It's one of the reasons why I travel alone." Aponi shrugged.

"Well since you're a nice person who cares about animals I don't care whether you're scarred or not." Roshan smiled.

"Thank you." Aponi smiled back.

The young women in the tribe gave Aponi a jealous look.

"Oh, my friends Manny, Sid, Diego and the rest of their herd are here visiting if you want to meet them." Roshan then remembered.

"I'd love to." Aponi said.

Roshan took Aponi to Manny's herd. The herd was a bit taken aback by her scars but after finding out how nice she was plus how she loved animals they warmed up to her.

As the days passed Roshan and Aponi became friends. Aponi even became friends with Manny's herd despite her not being able to understand them.

Much later on it was time for Roshan to go on his guide spirit journey. He traveled alone and lived alone for a long time, until finally a griffin appeared.

"Wha-" Roshan was shocked, he had never heard of a creature who was part bird and part...whatever his bottom half was supposed to be. "What are you?"

"I am a magical creature called a griffin, part eagle and part saber tooth tiger." The creature said. "And your guide spirit. My name is Shiloh."

A.N. I figured since lions weren't around yet prehistoric griffins were part saber tooth tiger instead.

"A..." Roshan was beyond surprised. "Whoa I...I never heard of anyone getting a magical creature for a guide spirit before."

"Very few humans have in the past." Shiloh said. "You are among the few because of your wisdom, selflessness, and love of nature. I know that you have been studying to become a shaman, and that is what you will be. However you will be no ordinary shaman, you will be one who can perform magic as well as heal the sick and wounded."

"Magic..." Roshan was stunned at first but then started to get an idea. "What kind of magic? I mean, what kind of spells will I be able to do?"

"Both ones that you can perform from your hands and ones that other have to drink. The latter is called potions." Shiloh explained. "You can do anything that is good to others, like create shields or bursts of energy to protect your loved ones."

"What about...changing someone's species?" Roshan asked.

Shiloh looked at him with surprise.

"Why on Earth would you want to do something like that?" Shiloh asked.

"A friend of mine is in love with someone of a different species." Roshan explained. "It's real love, since he's willing to risk his life to protect her, so I want to help him."

Shiloh smiled.

"Very well. There is a potion that can perform such a feat and I will instruct you on how to make it, but first you must learn basic magic. Come."

Roshan followed Shiloh and did what he was told. Many days passed and Roshan eventually learned many simple but useful spells, so Shiloh decided it was time to instruct him on how to make a species-changing potion. After a few days the potion was completed. It was time for Roshan to return home.

"Thank you Shiloh...will I ever see you again?" Roshan bowed.

"Only in your dreams, but you will hear my voice anytime you need me. Especially when it comes to making more potions." Shiloh smiled before fading away.

Roshan made the journey home. Aponi greeted him first.

"I really missed you." Aponi admitted. "Your father and friends have been nice to me but the rest of the village...well, let's just say I had to mostly stay in the forest with Manny and the others."

"I am sorry about that, if I had known I would've suggested that you take a trip of your own or something while I was gone." Roshan said sympathetically.

"Oh it's okay, Manny and his herd ended up protecting me." Aponi smiled.

Roshan smiled back and then continued on to greet his tribe and friends. Everyone was glad to see him.

During the later ceremony celebrating his entrance into manhood Roshan told them about his guide spirit Shiloh. Almost everyone was stunned, but Runar was proud of Roshan.


	3. A Mammoth Change

The next day Roshan took Louis aside privately.

"I have a surprise for you Louis." Roshan whispered.

"What is it?" Louis whispered back.

"This." Roshan pulled the species-changing potion out of his pack. "Shiloh taught me how to make it, it's a potion that can turn you into whatever species you wanted."

"You mean...like a mammoth?" Louis caught on right away.

"Exactly." Roshan smiled. "I know how much you love Peaches, and I decided that you have been waiting too long already."

"Thank you Roshan." Louis beamed.

"Anything for a friend." Roshan knelt down and opened the potion flask.

Louis took a deep breath and drank the potion. He kept thinking 'mammoth' and felt himself growing larger.

" _This is for you Peaches._ " He thought.

Finally the transformation was complete, Louis was now a mammoth. The only trait left of his molehog form was his coloring.

"And now it's time to let the rest of your herd know." Roshan smiled. "Uh, but you probably should get used to your new size and strength though."

"Right." Louis agreed.

He slowly moved about and tested his trunk in various ways, until finally he was able to pluck berries off a bush and eat them without smushing them.

"I hope Peaches likes my new look." Louis said nervously as he and Roshan went to where the herd usually hung out.

"If she truly is your friend she'll just be glad that you're the same Louis on the inside." Roshan reassured him.

"Roshan...can you not tell Peaches why I took the potion?" Louis asked. "I want to tell her myself."

"Of course." Roshan smiled.

Soon they neared the herd.

"I'd better prepare them." Roshan added.

Roshan approached the herd alone.

"Hi guys...and gals." Roshan said. "I have a surprise for you, or rather Louis and I have a surprise for you. Mostly for Peaches."

"What is it?" Peaches asked.

"Well, while I was with Shiloh I learned how to make a potion that can change your species." Roshan said. "I wanted to test it and Louis offered to be the test subject."

"Whoa, he was willing to test something you've just made?" Manny was surprised. "Huh, he's braver than we though."

"Or more foolish, what if something had gone wrong?" Diego pointed out.

Peaches looked worried.

"Relax, nothing went wrong." Roshan chuckled. "I learned how to make the potion from Shiloh after all. I just wanted to see it work."

Everyone relaxed and smiled understandingly.

"Ha, don't see the point of changing your species." Granny scoffed. "That is defying nature!"

"Well, sometimes changing who you are on the outside is a good thing." Roshan shrugged. "He's still the same Louis on the inside, so I don't see the problem."

"Hey, now there is a way to turn into water creatures if the world should ever flood for real!" Sid realized.

"Yeah, whaddya know." Diego chuckled.

"Well apart from that I doubt any of us wants to become another species." Shira added.

Everyone else confirmed this.

"Louis, you can come out now." Roshan said.

Louis did and everyone stared at him.

"I've seen two-ton mammoths before, but never two-tone mammoths." Crash remarked.

"Yeah, I dunno whether to call it neat or weird." Louis chuckled.

"I think it's neat." Peaches smiled.

"Neat it is then."

"Well, I guess no one can call you weiner anymore." Manny smiled. "Not that we still think of you as one of course."

"So, how long do you think you're gonna stay a mammoth?" Ellie asked.

"I was thinking...maybe for the rest of my life." Louis admitted.

The rest of Manny's herd dropped their mouths open.

"But what about your family?" Manny asked.

"And digging?" Peaches added.

"You guys are my family now, and as for my parents and siblings I think they'll understand." Louis shrugged. "They understood when I decided to join you guys after all. As for digging...I will miss it but I think I can live without it."

"So why do you want to be a mammoth forever?" Peaches asked. "Feel awkward around Ethan and the others?"

"Not since they accepted me." Louis shrugged. "Actually, I just grew to like it a lot real fast. Maybe I was even meant to be a mammoth, who knows?"

"Well, as long as you're the same Louis on the inside I don't care what you look like on the outside." Peaches smiled.

Louis smiled back.

As time passed Peaches and Louis started to hang out a lot more, Peaches even got Louis into trying her swinging trick. It was a bit awkward for him at first but eventually he learned and ended up enjoying it.

One day Peaches and Louis decided to take a walk to nearby waterfall and this time Manny let them go on their own.

"You're actually letting them go alone?" Ellie was surprised. "Without even sending my brothers to spy on them?"

"Well Louis is now big enough to handle large predators, and we all know how protective he is of her." Manny smiled. "Besides, I trust him. I know he'd never hurt Peaches nor would let any harm come to her."

Ellie smile at him proudly.

As Peaches and Louis continued on their walk Peaches thought about Louis. She had been noticing that her feelings for Ethan had been fading away, and her friendship for Louis was growing stronger. She couldn't figure out what was going on, until at one point during the walk Peaches and Louis smiled at each other...and Peaches realized for the first time how handsome Louis really was. She kept thinking about it, wondering what had changed.

 _Funny how it turns out  
That everything can change  
What I feel right now  
Is not the same as yesterday_

 _There's more than I imagined  
Deep inside my heart  
Emotions that I never knew  
And this is just the start_

 _So many things I've been missing, not watching  
But that was all in the past_

 _Now I realize  
There's so much more to learn  
I'm ready for the world  
Not scared of letting go_

 _Now I realize  
There's so much more to feel  
And my heart knows it's real  
The part of me, so long forgotten,  
Is calling, and this feels like home, home, home  
Feels just like home  
(Feels just like home)_

They then arrived at the waterfall. They admired the scenery for a while but then Louis got a sneaky smile, sucked up some water, and sprayed Peaches.

"Hey!" Peaches laughed. "Oh so that's how it's going to be huh?"

She sucked up some water and sprayed Louis. Louis laughed and the two of them had a water fight.

After the fight they dried off by relaxing in the sun. Peaches started to doze off and soon fell asleep. Louis awkwardly neared his trunk towards hers and gently took it before falling asleep as well. Peaches woke up and saw Louis's trunk in hers. She stared at their trunks, then at Louis, who was smiling in his sleep. Peaches couldn't help but smile too, especially since she was feeling a special connection to Louis. That's when she realized that she had fallen in love with him. Maybe Ethan wasn't the one after all, maybe...maybe Louis was. She fell asleep.

 _Right from the start, been friends forever  
Somehow we're meant to be together_

 _I feel like you've shown me  
How to find my way home  
Find my way home_

 _Now I realize  
There's so much more to learn  
I'm ready for the world  
Not scared of letting go_

 _Now I realize  
There's so much more to feel  
And my heart knows it's real  
The part of me so long forgotten  
Is calling, and this feels like home, home, home  
It feels just like home  
(Feels just like home)_

Louis later woke up and gently removed his trunk, only for Peaches to tighten her grip. She then woke up smiling, causing Louis to blush.

"Uh, sorry about that." Louis said awkwardly.

"It's okay, I liked it." Peaches said before getting up and yawning.

Louis smiled.

"Peaches I...I have to tell you something." Louis decided it was time.

"What is it?" Peaches smiled.

"I...I love you." Louis finally said it. "That's the real reason why I took the potion, I want to be with you and...and I figured you'd never see me as anything more than a friend while we were different species."

Peaches stared at him, stunned.

"You were willing to give up your molehog life, to give up digging, just to be with me?" She said.

"Peaches, you are my life...and you mean so much more to me than digging." Louis said gently.

 _I look inside your eyes and see  
A different part of me  
What I didn't know I want in life  
You're everything I need_

 _Now I realize  
There's so much more to learn  
I'm ready for the world  
Not scared of letting go  
Now I realize  
There's so much more to feel  
And my heart knows it's real  
The part of me so long forgotten  
Is calling and this feels like home_

 _This feels like home, home, home  
Feels just like home_

Peaches smiled and wrapped her trunk around his. Louis looked at her with joy and disbelief.

"I love you too." She said.

Louis was so happy he actually started to shed a few tears. They hugged just as Manny and Ellie had hugged way back when Manny admitted his feelings to her.

After some time they headed back. They went to Manny and Ellie first.

"Daddy, Louis and I have to tell you something." Peaches said. "We're dating."

"What?" Manny was surprised but didn't sound angry or anything much to Louis's relief.

"That's right sir, it's the real reason why I became a mammoth." Louis confirmed. "I love Peaches, I have for a long time actually. I know how protective you are of her, so if there's anything I can do to prove myself to you name it. I'll do anything to be with her."

Manny thought for a while as Peaches, Ellie, and Louis waited. Ellie hopeful and Peaches and Louis both nervous.

Manny then smiled.

"You don't have to do anything but continue to love her." He said. "After all your risked your life to save her from Gutt, and you're willing to give up your molehog life just to be with her. You have my blessing."

Peaches beamed, Louis smiled with gratitude and astonishment, and Ellie smiled with pride and joy.

"Glad you're learning Manny." Ellie said before turning to Louis. "It's perfectly all right with me too. But hey, I'm the one with opossum brothers so why wouldn't it be?"

The four of them chuckled. Later the rest of the herd found out and approved. Crash and Eddie even were okay with it, though mostly because Louis saved their niece from Gutt beforehand. Sid was 'had no reason to not like the relationship' happy, and Diego and Shira were 'calm yet approving' happy. Granny still didn't like Louis changing his species, but decided to let it go because he did it out of love.


	4. Aponi's Past

Some days later Roshan was taking a walk with most of Manny's herd. Only Peaches and Louis stayed behind to spend some time alone together. Aponi was nearby collecting edible plants for dinner. Then some women from the tribe showed up.

"Don't get too comfortable being around Roshan Scarface." One woman said. "He's going to end up with one of us some day."

Aponi blushed but recovered before turning around. Truthfully she was starting to fall in love with Roshan, but didn't want to admit it.

"Uh, we're just friends." She shrugged. "There's no reason to feel threatened."

"We're not, there's no way Roshan would ever love an ugly person such as your self." Another woman said.

"In fact, you don't even deserve to wear this!" A third woman snatched Aponi's necklace, which was made out of a rainbow of stones.

"Hey!" Aponi cried. "Give it back!"

No luck, the women played Keep-Away with the necklace. Aponi tried getting it back, but she was outnumbered. She was also very close to crying.

Suddenly, a white trunk snatched the necklace from midair. Aponi and the women turned and saw an angry Louis holding the necklace. Louis gave the necklace back to Aponi as Peaches showed up and also glared at the women.

"Thank you." Aponi said, trying not to cry.

"What is going on here?"

Startled, everyone turned and saw that Roshan was back with the rest of Manny's herd.

"How dare you treat Aponi that way!" Roshan glared. "She is a very good friend of mine! You all should be ashamed of yourselves! I want you to leave her alone from now on got it?"

"But Roshan, come on, she's just a loner freak with an ugly face." The second woman protested.

"She is not!" Roshan snapped. "She is kind and cares about others which makes her more beautiful than the rest of you!"

The women dropped their mouths open, hurt, and with tears in their eyes left.

"Thank you Roshan." Aponi smiled. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me."

"What are friends for?" Roshan smiled.

Aponi then sighed.

"Contact your tribe, it's time you all know why my face is scarred." She said.

"Good." Roshan left to talk to the tribe.

See Roshan had asked Aponi about her scars but Aponi didn't want to tell the story. Obviously Roshan was still curious.

So the tribe and Aponi gathered around the campfire. Manny's herd stayed behind the tents.

"Back when I was a little girl bandits raided my tribe." Aponi explained. "I was supposed to go with mom into the woods and hide, but I saw my horse Swift Deer being stolen by one of the bandits. Without thinking I ran to try to save Swift Deer, but I tripped and fell face-first into a campfire. Even after I put out the fire I was so badly hurt that I just sat there and cried. Finally I remembered about Swift Deer but it was too late, he was gone and so were the bandits. I then went back to look for my mom...only to find her dead. She had been running after me earlier and was killed by a bandit. I was devastated and the rest of the tribe scolding me for my carelessness didn't help either. I took mom's necklace to remember her by, the necklace you see me wearing now, and went on my own. Since I lost my dad years before I left in hopes of at least getting Swift Deer back. I never found him, nor even found the bandits, so I just lived on my own and have been doing so ever since."

Everyone looked at her sympathetically, and the women who bullied her even felt bad for doing so. They weren't going to admit it though.

"I'm sorry about your parents and horse." Roshan said gently.

"It's okay, I stopped blaming myself a long time ago." Aponi smiled slightly. "I realized that mom ran after me because she loves me and cares about me, which is why I ran to try to save Swift Deer. So, I just took comfort from that fact and moved on with my life. I still care about Swift Deer of course and would love to have him back, but I can wait. I know someday we'll be reunited."

A few weeks passed. Aponi was being treated a lot better in the tribe now, which made life easier for her.

But then misfortune: bandits attacked! The women ran into the forest for protection as the men fought. Most of Manny's herd fought too. Sid and Granny didn't partially because of Sid not being a fighter and partially because he wanted to keep Granny safe. Instead they stuck with the women of the tribe. Crash and Eddie didn't exactly fight, but they didn't run off either. They just hung around the front trees of the part of the forest Sid, Granny, and the women hid in and tossed rocks and nuts and such to keep the bandits at bay. Diego and Shira didn't want to kill anyone, so they only pounced bandits off horses and scratched them to weaken them. Manny, Ellie, Peaches, and Louis batted bandits left and right with their trunks and, along with Diego and Shira, had the most success. Only Roshan fought better thanks to his magic, fortunately by this point he had become very good at it.

Aponi was the only human woman who didn't hide. She did start for the forest, but stopped when she saw a bandit on a horse. The horse was Swift Deer, Aponi recognized him instantly! She then knew that the bandits were the same ones that attacked her old tribe and killed her mother. Not thinking about her own safety, she ran towards her horse. The bandit nearly hit her but she started to sing a song from her old tribe, a song that made Swift Deer back away with shock, causing the bandit to miss. The bandit angrily tried to make Swift Deer move closer to Aponi, but Swift Deer had recognized Aponi through the song and her eyes and fought back, even trying to buck the bandit off.

Roshan then saw Aponi and the bandit, and used a blast of magic to knock the bandit off Swift Deer. Swift Deer went to Aponi and nuzzled her, causing Roshan to realize who he was.

Thanks to Roshan's magic and the mammoths and sabers, Runar's tribe won. The bandits fled and Aponi got Swift Deer back.

"So, you are friends of my mistress?" Swift Deer said to Manny and his herd after things calmed down.

"Yeah, we met Roshan a long time ago when he was a baby." Diego confirmed. "We were reunited with him quite a while back and had been staying with him."

"Aponi then visited the area recently and befriended Roshan." Ellie added.

"I like this Roshan." Swift Deer smiled. "He's a good human. Powerful too, in a good way, and a really strong heart."

He looked over to Roshan and Aponi. Roshan was making sure that Aponi was all right, which she was.

"I think he'll be a good mate for my mistress." He added, seeing something between them. "Thank you for helping me return to Aponi, I've missed her so much. She has grown into a beautiful young woman, just like her mother...I'm only sorry she got hurt that badly."


	5. The Herd Grows

Now a lot of the men had been wounded during the battle, so they had to be taken care of. Roshan got right on it, and Manny's herd and Aponi stayed out of respect for the wounded. Once the wounded were healed, Manny's herd decided it was time to leave.

"You're really leaving?" Roshan said sadly.

"We're travelers, can't stay in one place too long." Manny said before ruffling Roshan's hair with his trunk. "It was great seeing you again, I know we'll meet up again one day."

"Yeah, I just hope it takes fewer years this time." Roshan chuckled, smoothing his hair.

"Thank you Roshan, for everything." Louis smiled, putting his trunk on Roshan's shoulder.

"Ditto." Peaches agreed.

Roshan hugged them both as best he could.

"Normally I don't like humans, but you ain't such a bad youngin." Granny added. "Wouldn't mind running into you again sometime in the future."

"Can't you come with us?" Crash pouted.

"I do wish I could come, but I have to stay with my tribe." Roshan nodded.

"Yeah, good to know some of us are still loyal to their family." Sid nodded sadly, obviously still hurting a bit from the rest of his family abandoning him.

"Hey kid, before we go it's time I confessed something." Diego said sadly. "Would've said it sooner but...well, I was afraid of hurting you."

"What is it Diego?" Roshan asked.

"The saber who made your mom jump into the river? It was me." Diego hung his head. "I'm sorry about your mom."

"It's okay Diego." Roshan smiled. "You were just following orders at the time, and mom jumping into the river was her own decision. It wasn't like you pushed her or anything."

"Wait? You knew about me changing sides?" Diego was surprised.

"I was there when you admitted everything to Manny and Sid remember?" Roshan chuckled. "You're not a bad saber Diego, you just made some bad choices that you later made up for."

Diego smiled.

Aponi then appeared on Swift Deer.

"Aponi? Swift Deer?" Roshan said. "Where are you two going?"

"We, or at least I, decided to join Manny's herd." Aponi smiled. "I'm so used to traveling that I can't stay in a tribe of any kind anymore. I know I can't understand them, but friendship doesn't really need words."

"Oh." Roshan was even sadder. "I'll really miss you."

"I'll miss you too, but I'm sure we'll meet up again." Aponi agreed. "So, you guys don't mind us joining you?"

Manny's herd more or less shook their heads. Manny then trumpeted and Louis and Peaches gave him an amused/annoyed look. Swift Deer however nickered amusedly.

"Heh, Manny said that since they already have a transformed animal in the herd having a human and a horse in the herd wouldn't be so weird." Roshan smirked.

Aponi chuckled.

Roshan waved his goodbyes as Manny's herd, with the new human and horse additions, left. He then headed back to his tribe. However it didn't take long for him to just sit by the campfire looking depressed. It also didn't take long for his dad to notice.

"Miss your friends already huh son?" Runar said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I do." Roshan admitted. "Especially...Aponi. I've fallen in love with her."

"How come you never told her?" Runar asked.

"The other women were jealous of her, I didn't want to cause her further trouble." Roshan explained.

"Ah. Wise decision really." Runar smiled approvingly. "Son, I know you think you should stay here, but what you really should do is listen to your heart."

Roshan thought about that. Then he heard a voice in his head.

" _Family isn't just the past, family is also the future. Go to your future Roshan._ "

It was Shiloh's voice. Roshan smiled and stood up.

"I think it's time I started my own future rather than repeat yours dad." He said.

"I think so too." Runar smiled. "Goodbye son. I'd also wish you good luck, but I don't think you'll need it."

"Goodbye dad, I'll miss you." Roshan hugged Runar.

"I'll miss you too." Runar hugged him back. "Don't forget your horse, you have to keep up with them somehow."

"Right." Roshan chuckled.

He then grabbed his stuff, mounted his mare Shining River, and galloped after Manny's herd.

Manny's herd continued, until Diego and Shira stopped.

"Weird, you hear hoofbeats too?" Shira asked Diego.

"Yeah." Diego agreed.

This made the rest of the herd stop. They then all turned around and saw Roshan.

"Roshan?" Aponi was surprised but happy. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, at first I thought I belonged with my tribe, but after listening to my heart I realized that I really belong in a herd. Your herd." Roshan smiled.

Everyone beamed and welcomed him into the group. Roshan and Aponi dismounted and hugged.

"You're part of the reason why I left my tribe." Roshan smiled.

"Really?" Aponi was a bit surprised.

"Yes...I love you." Roshan admitted.

Aponi just smiled.

"I love you too." She said.

They kissed. Suddenly Aponi glowed! Startled, Roshan backed away. When the glow faded everyone dropped their mouths open: Aponi's scars were gone!

"What's wrong?" Aponi of course couldn't see her new look; or rather, her returned old look.

"Your scars are gone." Eddie remarked.

"Now how in tarnation is that possible?" Granny wondered.

Aponi stared at them.

"Wha- You-you...I understood you!" She gasped.

Eddie and Granny's eyes bulged.

"You can understand animals now..." Roshan was stunned. "Whoa, I've heard of kisses being magical but this..."

"This is definitely true love right here." Ellie smiled. "I'm sure it was Roshan's love that caused Aponi's scars to go away plus gave her the ability to understand us."

Aponi now caught on about the scar detail, and touched her face to make sure it was true. Obviously it was, so she beamed at Roshan. Roshan grinned back and they kissed again.

The now human-and-horse included herd continued their journey.


End file.
